


encounter

by TR33G1RL



Category: One Piece
Genre: M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-19
Updated: 2019-12-19
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:01:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21861880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TR33G1RL/pseuds/TR33G1RL
Summary: After another one of the Red Hair Pirates' parties, Benn and Mihawk have some time to talk to each other.(It's short and I probably won't add onto it.)
Relationships: Benn Beckman/Dracule Mihawk
Comments: 2
Kudos: 27





	encounter

_‘What a mess.’_

Mihawk’s eyes scan over the members of the Red Hair Pirates, who are strewn about after their long celebration. Of what, Mihawk can’t quite recall, but he’d shown up halfway through the party, prompting Shanks to raise his tankard and yell to his men that ‘The coming of Dracule Mihawk is a good omen! Two more days of partying!’ The loud announcement had brought a cheer from most of the Red Hair Pirates, a laugh from Shanks himself, a silent roll of gold eyes from Mihawk, and a low, calm chuckle from Shanks’ first mate. His eyes met Mihawk’s and Benn smiled, a lazy curve of his lips, before he exhaled elegant curls of smoke into the air. Mihawk took a step towards Benn, but before he could get any further, the crowd of Shanks' men became chaotic and dense again, obscuring the other man from sight. Mihawk held back a frustrated noise; he'd hoped to stray from most of the drunk crewmen and spend the party with Benn, who Mihawk knew could hold both his liqour and a decent conversation. Alas, it was not to be. Mihawk would only be here for the remaining two days of the party anyway.

Now, after _four_ more days of partying, it seems like the Red Hair Pirates have finally crashed, their unconscious bodies scattered all over the deck of the Red Force. Mihawk, it seems, was one of the very few that was awake anymore. It was somewhere between late night and early morning, so maybe Mihawk should be asleep, but he’d always liked this time of day/night best and he isn’t going to waste the rest of the bottle of red wine in his hand. 

From where he’s sitting on the stairs leading to the quarter deck, he has a good view of the ship, though the sky is mainly blocked by the ship’s sails. It’s for this reason that the moonlight does not reach Mihawk’s eyes, leaving the swordsman in the blue dark of not-night-yet-not-morning. The dark doesn’t have any effect on Mihawk, though; he’s called ‘Hawk-Eyes’ for good reason, after all. 

He has a half-empty bottle of red wine in his hand and has been taking large swigs from it for the past couple hours. He’d usually have more decorum than this, than drinking from the bottle’s mouth, but the wineglass he’d been drinking from had been grabbed by a very drunk Shanks and tossed into the depths of the ocean. Not wanting to be sober while surrounded by as much stupidity as the Red Hair Pirates could collectively think of and act out, Mihawk had resorted to drinking straight from the bottle. Thankfully, there had been enough bottles of red wine to keep Mihawk in a pleasant slightly-more-than-buzzed state. Emphasis on ‘had.’ Mihawk is on the last bottle now, and he is sour about that fact.

He takes a small sip of wine as he lets his eyes fall closed in favor of the darkness behind his eyelids instead of the darkness of the night sky. It helps him focus on the flavour of the wine, the sweet-yet-not taste of it. All is quiet, besides the taste on Mihawk’s tongue.

“Well, well, well. Look who’s still up.”

The voice is deep, gravelly, and Mihawk doesn’t even open his eyes as he takes another swallow of his wine. There’s only one person on Red Hair’s crew who could’ve controlled himself enough to still be awake and conscious at this point in time, and Mihawk is well aware that said man is awake simply to talk to the swordsman himself. As he lowers the bottle from his lips, he replies with a short, “Beckman. I see you're awake, as well.” He opens his eyes again and glances at the man who is moving to sit down on the stair next to him. “I’m not surprised to see that you’re the most sober of your crew.” He gestures, a slight tilt of his bottle, to the unconscious bodies of Backman’s crewmates. “They all seem to have had a good time.”

Benn looks around at his nakama with a fond smile before shaking his head as he chuckles. “They certainly did. This was one of our longest parties on a long while.” His eyes move over to Mihawk, leaning back against the stair behind him and crossing his arms loosely over his chest as an easygoing grin moves onto his lips. “Thank you,” he adds, the cigarette between his lips bobbing with the action.

Mihawk cocks a brow at him curiously, confused by the sentiment. “You’re thanking me? For what?” he asks before eyeing how much liquor is left in the bottle. There’s some, yes, but nowhere near a satisfying amount. His lips press together in mild annoyance; how disappointing. 

A soft, deep laugh proceeds Benn’s words. “For giving them something to celebrate,” he tells the swordsman as he lifts a hand to pull the cigarette away from his lips. He exhales, smoke curling from his lips and into the dark of the air. He watches the way it floats away and disappears into nothing. Mihawk doesn’t; he just watches Benn’s face, expecting more of an explanation. When the Red Hair Pirate’s eyes catch Mihawk’s eye, his subtle smile quirks up at the edges. “They haven’t partied this hard in a while. It’s good to see them so excited.”

Mihawk lets out a small exhale, a sound between amusement and disbelief. "I hardly believe you, given how the party they threw last time I decided to stay for a while was of the same size. Perhaps even larger," he adds before taking a drink. There goes half of the remaining wine.

“Well, you don’t have to, but it’s true,” Benn says as he takes the cigarette back between his lips. “And I can’t say I don’t appreciate seeing you.” 

Gold eyes move back to examine the taller man. There’s a beat of silence before Mihawk says, “So your captain has told me. Why is that?”

Benn doesn’t respond, just exhales more smoke into the air as his subtle smile grows ever so slightly. “I feel like you already know the answer to that.”

Mihawk’s lips just barely twitch upwards as he replies with a calm, “Perhaps I do,” before he finishes the rest of his alcohol. He sets the bottle aside and moves to stand, saying, "I best take my leave now." But before he can walk away, Benn speaks up.

"Why don't you stay for a smoke?"

Mihawk pauses before taking his previous seat once again. "I suppose I can."

Wordlessly, Benn hands him a cigarette and Mihawk places it between his lips before letting Benn light it for him. They both take a drag. Smoke curls into the air as they sit in comfortable silence with good company.


End file.
